Will In-House Product Designers Make A Difference to Your Merchandise?

When you’re creating branded products, you’re handing over your most valuable asset: your brand. Every branded umbrella weathering a storm, every custom sock walking through city streets, carries your brand reputation with it.

Product development can’t be an afterthought, and outsourcing design to third-party agencies lends itself to miscommunication, extended timelines, and a compromised vision. A brand with a defined and distinctive style is a brand that requires a team that gets it. Whether it’s the PMS colour, sustainable practices, packaging requirements, or warehouse storage, you need to know they can deliver the perfect product every time.

Now, you don’t need to go hiring a product designer. You need a merchandise partner who already has them. That’s precisely why we’ve just brought product design in-house at Good Things.

What Having In-House Product Designers Means

At Good Things, we’ve assembled what’s rare in the merchandise industry: a complete in-house team including two full-time product designers working alongside our creative team, account managers, and logistics specialists, all under the Good Things roof (three offices, one warehouse).

But what does this mean for your brand, and is it something you need to consider next time you’re engaging with a branded merch supplier?

First of all, we’re not for those just seeking another supplier. Merchandise and apparel are tools for engagement, storytelling and scale, tools that need to encompass sustainability, creative development, employee engagement, and retail and trade activation. Sure, if you want a 72-hour turnaround, we can do it and do it well. But here’s what having product designers in-house really delivers:

What’s the difference between Graphic Design and Product Design?

First, let’s clarify what we mean: graphic designers create striking and creative designs for your chosen products. Product designers make those products. They stay across trends, push creative boundaries, and bring bold, considered concepts to life. Together, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.

True Collaboration From Start to Finish

We don’t start with what’s easiest; we start with what’s possible.

With the Product team in place, we can now work more collaboratively with our clients, not just to find products that fit their brand but to actually design them with our clients’ priorities in mind from the start. You’ll be working directly with our designers and account managers to find the best options for your brand. This concept-led approach prioritises ambitious and strategic thinking, followed by collaboration and refinement to land on custom products that are fresh, relevant, and on-brand.

It’s an extension of our commitment to be part of our clients’ marketing team.

Creativity With No Limits

The reality is, if your branded merch supplier doesn’t have a product designer on board, they’re limited in what they can achieve without outsourcing. We don’t like feeling capped, from ideation through to sampling and distribution, our custom product process is end-to-end. From mood boards to full custom ranges, together we will transcend cookie-cutter solutions with uncapped creativity.

An even faster turnaround

Everything we do at Good Things is done with speed. If you’ve got deadlines and we say we can meet them, we’re meeting them. Having our team internal allows much faster outcomes and better collaboration than outsourcing ever could. From concept and samples to storage and delivery, you’re working with one team across the board, and we don’t let anything slow us down.

Complete Control and Sustainability

We lead with sustainability. Having a Product team helps us continue our work in providing better environmental options. We produce custom-branded boxes, compostable mailers, and other eco-conscious packaging solutions to suit each brief. Not to mention, all packaging is managed on-site, allowing us to align with environmental goals while maintaining quality and presentation standards.

Direct Factory Manufacturing

For custom products, we work directly with factories – not intermediaries. Our team has on-the-ground presence in key regions, ensuring QC is followed during every stage of production. This includes pre-production sampling, colour and print verification, and durability testing before bulk production begins; it’s all under control.

Ready to See What’s Possible?

Whether you dream it or we dream it, we can make it happen. While we’ve always offered completely custom branded products, our product designers unlock a whole new level by bringing this talent into the Good Things team. We can’t wait to show you what’s possible.

So, go on, give us a challenge.

Get in touch to discuss your branded merch vision.

 

FAQ

What do you mean by custom merchandise?

When we say custom, we really mean it. At Good Things, we craft custom, made-to-order merchandise that fits your size, colour, and specifications to a T. Our custom products are built from scratch for maximum impact.

How does custom merchandise work?

The process is end-to-end, from ideation through to sampling and distribution.

Step 1. Discuss: Get in touch with our team to talk all about your custom merch project and marketing objectives.

Step 2. Design: We’ll work with you to explore all the options and tell your brand story through custom product designs.

Step 3. Deliver: We’ll handle the rest, from production to delivery, ensuring it’s delivered precisely to your specifications.

What’s the minimum order quantity for your custom products?

When it comes to custom, generally, the minimum order quantities are higher, the lead time is longer, and the price per unit for stock products is lower. We usually say custom is for when volumes are high, the delivery date is 8 weeks or more, and if you’re searching for maximum merch impact. For a specific minimum order quantity, we first need to talk about the product, so please get in touch to discuss.

What’s included in your design process? Are there additional fees?

We want it to look Good. Our custom options include renders, mock-ups, colour matching and materials, so you don’t need to worry about any additional fees.

Good Things combines in-house product design, creative development, and logistics expertise to deliver custom merchandise that goes beyond generic solutions. Our integrated approach ensures faster timelines, complete brand control, and seamless collaboration from concept to delivery.